Artificial tooth.



E. J. CLAYPOOL. ARTIP'IGIAL TOOTH.

Patented Feb. 7, 1911.

FRANK J. CLAYPOL, OF OTTAWA. KANSAS.

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

Specification of Letters lntent.

atcnt'cd licb. T. 191i.

Application filed September 8, 1910. Serial No. 531.981.q

To att whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lFRANK J. Cfu-wrom., a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa, in the county of Franklin and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Teeth, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to artificial teeth and more particularly to teeth of that class comprising a porcelain facing and a backing secured together, my object being to produce a tooth of this character, wherein the hacking is disposed over the cutting edge of the porcelain to relieve-the latter of the strain incident to biting upon hard objects, of such construction that the f acing may be properly fitted to the backing secured in the mouth, b fitting itagainst the backing and then slicing it longitudinally thereon a distance materlally shorter than its own length, and which, ,if it becomes defective from any cause, may be readily removed by moving it in the reverse direction.

More specitically,'1ny object is' to produce an artificial tooth embodying a backing having a downwardly and forwardly projecting lower portion and a Ypin or stud extending in substantially the same direction from a point above said lower portion, and a facing having its lower portion ground to fit the corresponding portion of the backing, and a socket to receive said pin or stud, a still further object being to provide the backing, above said pin or stud, with a longitudinally extending dovetail stitf'ening rib of downwardly tapering forni and a corresponding groove in the facing to receive saidrib. v

With these 'objects in viewv the invention `consists in certain novel and peculiar few.

tures of construction and organization as lwroinat'ter described ahnd'clanned; and in order that it may be fullyunderstood rcfevent-e is to be had to the accompanying dra wing, in whichy Figure l, is a pcrspectiveyiew of a porcelain facing and a backin secured together in operative relation. Fig. 2, is a vertical section of the same with the parts in the act of being slipped together or apart. Fia. 3, a detail perspective View ofthe backing. Fig. Lt, is a detail perspective View f the facing. Fig. 5, is a horizontal section on the line V-V of Fig. 6. Fig. 6, is a vertical section showing the backing and facing secured in operative relation upon a root and consti tuting an incisor. Fig. T. a side view with` the parts 'in operative relation the tooth shown being` a hicuspid.

ln the said drawing. t indicates the porco lain facinglor part of the tooth which is dis" cerniblo when in a persons mouth. the oppov site ends of the saule being beveled, the upper edge at L) and the lower edge at 3. ln the rear face of the facing is formed a vcrtical dove-tail groove et, which tapers or narrows toward its lower end and it is also formed with a socket extending downv L l l wardly and forwardly, the upper end ot the socket communicating with the groove 4.

6 indicates a gold or equivalent backing plate to fit snugly against the rear side of the facing and bent to forni a downwardly and forwardly projecting lower portion 7 to fit snugly against the beveled surface 3 so that the lower end ofi said portion 7 shall betiush with the face of the facing at the lower margin of the latter and-thus pro tect the latter and prevent the same from being injured under strain `imposed upon it incidental to the act of niastication'. At its front side the backin plate is provided with a dove-tail longitudinal rib 8 susce tible of fittingl with a dove-tail relation 1n groove i of the facing and projecting downwardly and forwardly from the lower end of the dove-tail rib 8 is a )in or stud 9, to fit snugly in socket 5, a'thin web 10 uniting the pin or stud with the backing plate and extending throughthe narrow lower yend of' the groove 4 and terminating by preference, short of the lower end of the pin or stud as clearly shown, so that back of the lower end of said`pin or stud, the facing shall be solid.

After the backing plate and porcelain facing havebeen finished so as to articulate properly, the former is secured to a root as shown or in any other suitable or preferred manner, that is to say it is built up with additional gold or equivalent material ll so as to ll out the tooth to its proper form Whether it be an incisor, bicuspid or molar, the built-np portion also projecting forwardly beyond the backing plate at` 12, as an abutment for the upper beveled end 2 of the facing, it being of course undorstooththat the backing is susceptible of being attached to a bridge or of being secured in the mouth in any of the approved ways known to the dental profession. After the backing is properly secured in place, the facing is fitted against it substantially` as shown in Fig. 2,

if it an upper tooth-if it is a lower tooth,

-edge of the facing. In this manipulation of the facing it will be seen that it is neces'- sary to move it longitudinally only a small fraction of its length andbecause of this it can be secured4 to or removed from back as well as anterior teeth.

v'To secure the facing permanently in position, cement, is applied to its rear face and beveled edges and is also placed within the groove and socket, or it may be applied to the corresponding portions of the backing, so that when the facing is secured in operative relation tothe backing it will be permanently united thereto, it being possible to remove it only by destroying the bond of cement.

It will be apparent that it will be impos- `sible for the fating to be accidentally disconnected from the backing even if not cemented as after it is in place a su'iiicient force must be applied upon the facing longitudinally to cause it to overcome the friction which is created between the socket and the pin and the lower beveled end ofthe facing and the correspondingly' bent end 7 of the backing. The pin or stud and socket together with the underlying portion? of the backing are depended upon chiefly to hold the facing upon the backing, the-dove-tail rib being relied upon mainly as an auxiliary to the pin or stud in this holding function and for stiffening and strengthening and providing for a more extended interlocked connection between the backing and the facing, it being also noted that by the provision of the backing with the dov e-tail rib and the facing with the dove-tail socket or groove, a large part of the strain which would otherwise be imposed upon the cement to prevent outward movement of the upper part of the facing, is avoided as the rib and groove guard against such separating movement.

From the above description it will be apparent that the facing is eficiently protected The facing isthen slid and relieved of all strain tending to split or check it, by means of the metal backing extending forwardly or outwardly to the incisive edge of the facing and that I have provided a construction which is simple, strong and durable and comparatively inexpensive.

I clairnl. An artificial tooth, comprising a backing having its lower end extending downwardly and outwardly, and provided with a downwardly and outwardly extending pin, and with a substantially vertical rib at the same 'side as and extending upwardly from the pin, and a facing having its lower edge beveled downwardly and outwardly 'to its incisive edge to correspond to and fit snugly upon the lower end of the backing, and provided with a downwardly and outwardly extending socket to receive said pin, and with a groove in its rear side forming a continuation of said socket and snugly receiving the said rib of the backing.

2. An artificial tooth, comprising a backing having its lowerend extending down'- wardly and outwardly, and provided with a downwardly and :outwardly extending pin, and with a substantially vertical rib at the same side as and extending upwardly from the pin, the said rib being of dove-tail form and narrowing from itsvupper end to its point of junction with the pin, and a'thin web extending from the backing to the pin thereof and terminating short of the lower end of the latter and constituting a braceI for the saine, and a facing having its lower edge beveled downwardly and outwardly to its incisive edge to correspond to and fit snugly upon the lower end of the backing, and provided with a downwardly and outwardly extending socket to receive said pin, and with a groove in its rear side forming an upwardl continuation of said socket, said groove being of dove-tail form and diminishing in width from its upper endA to its point of junction with said socket and adapted. to snugly receive the dove-tail rib ofthe backing.

In testimony whereof I affix my signae ture, in the presence of two witnesses.

A FRANK J. oLAYrooL.

Witnesses: y

S. R. HUBBARD, G. vY. THoRrE. 

